> it turns out that it's not actually sharing any data except with academics.

That wouldn't make me feel better. Remember Cambridge Analytica [0]?

[0] https://www.politico.eu/article/cambridge-analytica-academic...

Why does it take an article in Bloomberg to inform you of that? If you are concerned about your information being shared by the company to which you are disclosing it then why not look into the security of your data before handing it over?